Lubricating mine-car wheels



Feb. 6, 1923.

J. M. C AMERON. LUBRICATING MINE CAR WHEELS.

FILED JULYZY, 1921- awe/whoa J/K fame/@111 SEW W Cal .i atented l 6, l zih Ulrilll ED JOHN M. CAIVIERON, OF DORGHESTER, VIRGINIA.

LUBRICATING MINE-CAR WHEELS.

Application filed July 27,

1 0 all whom it may; concern Be it ltnown that 1, JOHN M. CAMERON, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Dorchester, in the county of lies and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricatinglifine- Car Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the lubrication of mine car wheels, pulleys, or gears in which the bearing is a part of the rotating member and the wheel or gear revolves upon a relatively stationary journal or shaft. The invention has for its object the provision of means whereby oil will be fed to the shaft while the pulley or wheel is rotating and which means will be operated to some extent by the vibration, jar or oscillation of the revolving member; to provide a construction which will prevent escape of the lubricant except as it passes from the surface of the journal or shaft; to provide a lubricating means which will return to the oil chamber or reservoir any surplus lubricant that may pass over the surface of the journal or shaft, and to provide an eficient lubricator which will be economical in the use of the lubricant.

The several stated objects of the invention and other objects which will appear incidentally in the course of the following description are attained in such a device as is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal section through the hub of a car wheel showing one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a central transverse section of the same;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a slightly different embodiment of the invention;

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates a mine 'ar ournal and f2 iiulicates the hub of the car wheel which is constructed with a concentric annular partition or sleeve 3 adapted to fit closely about the journal and spaced from the outer circular wall of the hub. The annular space 4 beveen the outer wall of the hub and the inner sleeve or bushing 23 constitutes an oil chamber and ports 5 may be provided through the sleeve or bushing 3 to establish communication between the oil chamber and the surface of the journal and permit re turn to the oil chamber of any excess in ri- 1921. Serial No. 487,944.

cant which may pass over the journal. in the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bushing or sleeve 3 is constructed with openings 6 therethrough which openings are in staggered relation around the bushing. Upon the inner surface of the outer wall of the hub adjacent and at opposite sides of the respective openings 6, I provide abutments 7. Within the annular space between the sleeve 3 and the outer hub wall and disposed freely between the co-operating abutments 7 are rollers 8 which are of such diameter that they will respectively enter the openings 6 and will tend by reason of their inertia and gravity to bear against the lower abutment 7 and the lower side of the opening 6 or against the rear abutment and the r ar side or wall of the opening, it being understood that the wheel is rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2.

Oil may be fed into the oil chamber in any convenient or preferred manner to the level indicated in Fig. 2, and, in Fig. 1, I have indicated a valve construction which will permit the oil to beinjected through the journal or shaft. In this arrangement, a valve chamber or passage 9 is formed longitudinally in the journal or shaft and opens through the end thereof. Extending radi ally through the shaft or journal from this valve chamber are ports or passages 10 and 11, the port 10 communicating with an internal groove 1.2 in the inner surface of the sleeve 3 and the port 11 communicating with one of the openings 6 and thereby establishing communication with the oil chamber, it being understood that the groove 3 also discharges into said opening 6. In the outer end of the chamber 9 is secured a plug 13 having an opening 1 therethrough and constructed with an annular shoulder or valve seat 15 intermediate the ends of said. opening. A valve 16 is disposed within the chamber 9 and is adapted to engage the shoulder or seat 15 so as to cut-off flow through the opening it and the valve chamber and exclude dust. The valve 16 is illus trated as consisting of a disc movable freely in the inner portion of the opening or passage l l and provided with a stem 17 ex tending inwardly within the valve chamber 9. An abutment or shoulder 18 is provided upon the stem 17 and between the said abutment and the inner end of the valve chamber, a spring 19 is coiled around the ex- Cir treinity oi the stem and by its expansion holds the valve normallyseated. ll hen it is necessary to replenish the supply of oil, an oil gun is employed, the nozzle of the gun being placed against the valve and utilized to press the valve to open position, after which the gun is manipulated to inject oil into the valve chamber and through the ports 10 and 11 into the oil chamber within the hub. /Vheu the desired quantity of oil has been fed into the hub, the gun is withdrawn and the spring 19 will at once seat the valve.

It is to be borne in mind that the rollers 8 are loose within the oil chamber. hen t. e wheel is rotating slowly, the rollers will assume the position indicated in 2. s the speed of the wheel increases, the roll will tend to fly out from the journal or shall 1 under the influence o'l centrifugal action and their inertia will cause them to ride back against the respectively adjacent abutments '7. Each abutment is provided with an inclined surface and is apart of the outer wall of the oil chamber. The abutment, being part or" the wheel is in constant vibration, due to the unevenness of the wheel rim and the rail upon which it travels, but the lubricating roller is freely suspended and does not partake of this vibration. The roller, however, is acted upon by the inclined sun i'ace of the abutment so that it is rotated slowly on its own axis and its oiled surface is turned to a point where it makes intermittent contact with the journal and thereby effectually lubricates the same without waste of lubricant or excessive application of lubricant to the journal.

Tn Fig. 3, l have shown an embodiment of the invention very similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but instead of a plurality of rollers, I employ only a single roller 21 which is loose between the journal and the hub wall 23 and between the abutments 2+2 substantially similar to the abutments 1'. The roller is also arranged to travel in an annular groove 25 -formed in the inner sleeve 26 01' the hub. In this form of the invention, the roller is caused to travel around the journal or shalt with the hub by the abutments 2% but there is sufiicient play oet-ween the journal and the hub to permit the roller to be out o1 contact with the journal within the groove 25. This form of the invention, like that previously described, is intended for use in car wheels, the treads of which are not smoothly finished. and the vibration or oscillation of the wheel is utilized to effect intermittent contact between the lubricating roller 21 and the journal. l Vhen the hub rotates at a high speed, the oil, under centrifugal action, is spread over the entire inner surface of the outer wall of the oil chamber. The lubricating roller, rotating on its axis, carries oil from the film thus formed to the journal but not in excessive quantity. The higher the speed, the greater will be the force driving the oil outwardly from the journal but the higher, also, will be the rotation of the lubricating roller and, consequently, more oil will be applied to the journal at high speed than at low speed. Owing to the oil-carrying action of the lubricating rollers, it is not necessary to till the oil. chamber to a level above the bottom of the journal. ()il cannot then be lost by leakage as the ports 5 return to the oil chamber any excess that reaches the end of the journal when the wheel is running.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The combination of a relatively stationary journal, a hub rotatable about the journal, an inner sleeve within the hub iitting upon the journaland provided with an opening giving access to the journal, spaced a butments upon the outer wall of the hub in the plane 01: said opening, and a. roller loosely seated between said abut ments and entering the opening in the sleeve.

2. The combination of a relatively stationary journal, a hub rotatable about the journal, a sleeve within the hub and ri id therewith and fitting upon the journal, said sleeve having staggered openings giving access to the journal rollers mounted loosely within the hub between the ournal and the outer wall of the hub and each having a portion within an opening in said sleeve, abutments on outer wall of the hub at opposite sides of respective rollers.

In testimony whereof I afiixmy signature.

JOHN M. oAMnnou. 1.3. 

